---
Kai stopped under the archway, eyes narrowing. The silence pressed against his ears again — not just quiet, but absence. The kind of emptiness that felt placed.
He exhaled slowly and glanced up at the faint reflection of the crown in the polished stone wall beside him. Still there. Still hovering. Still useless.
But then it pulsed.
Not brighter. Not faster. But different?
Kai blinked. He felt a slight tug. Not physical. Not magical in the explosive sense. More like… pressure. Directional pressure. Like the crown wasn't just sitting there anymore — it was indicating something.
His head turned to the left.
The pull followed.
Right.
The pull faded.
He stopped again.
"…Okay," he muttered, turning back to the left. "So that's new."
